There was a spring rain in the capital.
Spring rain is as precious as oil.
In mid-March, after the fourth year of Zhengde's imperial meeting, Zhu Houzhao spent some time adjusting some officials. However, the more than 20 days since then have been like a quiet period after the excitement, and there has been no major incident.
After Min Gui became official, it was Zhao Shen who took over as Shangshu of the Ministry of Justice. He had been promoted from the title of Jizuo Shilang to Zuo Shilang for four or five years.
He was originally a governor of southern Jiangxi, but his foundation in Beijing was not deep.
Zhu Houzhao is still willing to use such a person. On the contrary, I have always been indifferent to "very famous" Qingliu literati. It's not that I hate them, and it's not that I can't use them. It's just that there are too many such people in the court, and there are only a few like Zhao Shen.
Moreover, Zhao Shen came out of the provincial official training class, and his reuse was also the result of Zhu Houzhao's promotion.
In this way, these training courses themselves are meaningful.
Lin Han, the Minister of Rites, will probably be serving as an official for a long time.
A few days ago, there was a report from a chamberlain, and the emperor privately lamented: Lin Shangshu is old and deaf. Every time I call him, he has to repeat it several times. I pity his old age, and he is a veteran minister with high morals and high respect, and I feel deeply sorry for him. If you are not careful, you may hurt the feelings of the old minister.
As soon as these words came out, Lin Han naturally knew what they meant, and he was indeed very old.
It would be a lie to say that he was not sad, mainly because he was not mentally prepared. But then I thought about it, the emperor didn't get along very smoothly with him. He could tolerate him for so many years and finally give him a good death. What else could he be dissatisfied about?
Of course I was rejected the first time.
Zhu Houzhao was waiting for him for the second and third time.
The weather in spring always makes people feel comfortable, and the emperor no longer wants to be bored in the house. He holds an umbrella and goes to the pavilion in Xiyuan, watching the rainwater forming a line coming down from the eaves and corners, which has a unique charm.
The raindrops hit the stagnant water, and immediately created waves, splitting the red city wall reflected in the stagnant water, creating a twisted feeling.
The rain pattered loudly, blocking out other noises.
This environment always makes people feel relaxed and happy.
The emperor's two children are both over one year old, and they can already clearly pronounce the word "father".
In his spare time, Zhu Houzhao is also willing to tease his two children.
In fact, children are still somewhat interesting. You can make them happy and then make them cry.
Huaixiao and Huaiyan always enjoyed the little time the emperor had with his children. Of course, if they cried too much, they would each hold him in his arms.
"Zai He has a louder voice. Zai Yi should follow his mother's example and have a quiet personality." Zhu Houzhao rubbed the heads of the two little guys and said at the end, "They are both very good. I like them both."
The two girls at the beginning also had their hair tied up, probably because they had given birth to children, and now they are a little plumper.
Huaiyan brought a cloak over and said, "It's raining and windy today. Your Majesty, please don't catch a cold."
"It's okay, I'm not cold." But he didn't refuse the kindness.
On the other hand, Huaixiao will also make some soft and glutinous snacks for him.
The two sisters would often ask about these things every time they were with their parents' family. Because their father went to sea and the family was engaged in business, they had always been well-informed, so they would learn how to make new things whenever they found them.
They had been in the harem for the longest time, and there was no harem at that time. Zhu Houzhao's character was that he wanted to be a husband in the harem rather than an emperor, so they also pretended to be Zhu Houzhao in their hearts, and they did this more out of willingness.
Of course, everything you bring over to eat must have been tried by someone.
Zhu Houzhao liked the two sisters, "Tonight, the wet nurse will take care of the child. You guys wait for me."
This is a pavilion.
The two sisters were shocked,
"His Majesty!"
It's so good that there really is a little eunuch who came here treading water.
"Ahem."
These two sounds mean to be serious.
"Your Majesty, the commander of the Imperial Guard sent Mao Yuwen to ask for an audience."
"Xuan."
Since it was a state matter, both Huaixiao and Huaiyan understood it. They each hugged their children and left under the paper umbrella held by the palace maid. Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but admire her graceful figure:
Hanfu is really beautiful.
Mao Yuwen did not dare to look up, but bowed his head to show courtesy, and then went to the pavilion to kneel before the emperor.
"Why don't you hold an umbrella? Liu Jin, get something to wipe it with."
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. The spring rain is just light rain, so it won't be a problem."
"sit down."
"yes."
After sitting down.
Zhu Houzhao didn't talk about political affairs right away. He was now distracted and free, so he just took care of his subordinates, "Yuwen, your daughter is about four years old, right?"
"Your Majesty has a good memory, he is indeed four years old."
"Don't you want to have a son?"
Mao Yuwen wanted to smile, but he was used to being cold-faced, and his smile was particularly ugly, "... I'm trying this."
"I have given birth to two children."
This was said with a bit of pride, which made Mao Yuwen smile bitterly.
However, the emperor rarely talked about this with his ministers, and Mao Yuwen felt different after hearing this.
This is communication with confidants.
The commander of Jin Yiwei, how can he not be a confidant?
"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, with the brilliance of the sun and the moon. How can he be compared to the candlelight of a humble minister?"
"If you give birth to three sons, then I won't be able to compare with you."
"Pfft." Liu Jin held it in so hard that he felt uncomfortable to death, but he still popped it out. Then he panicked and said, "I am disrespectful, your majesty. Please punish me."
"Laugh if you want. Laughing is not a capital offense in the Ming Dynasty."
Mao Yuwen said softly, "Your Majesty's speech is indeed interesting."
Zhu Houzhao felt comfortable, "I'm in a good mood today. And I'm summoning you, the commander of the Royal Guards. If you are an old minister in the court, you have to sit upright. Hey, by the way, why did you come to the palace to see me?"
"Oh, Your Majesty, please allow me to report."
Mao Yuwen had already asked everything about the matter on the way here. He didn't go there in person, but he made it clear.
The matter was not complicated to say, and the emperor nodded frequently after hearing this.
"So, is Zhang Cong still being imprisoned?"
"It's being locked up. After that, the interrogation will definitely continue."
Zhu Houzhao touched his nose and said, "No matter what, this is still an official of the imperial court. Whether he is convicted and dismissed, or exiled and beheaded, he must first give an explanation to the imperial court. But to be on the safe side, I would like to find someone to remind me that I will not be tortured in prison. Once it is under control, abuse of lynching will no longer be allowed in this place. This person is useful to me, but don’t let them get hurt."
Judging from the few hundred words he wrote in class, Zhu Houzhao knew how to use him.
The land issues of the Ming Dynasty always have to be resolved.
Considering that Zhang Cong also served as the chief minister in history, in addition to his will and ideas, his official methods, abilities and ability to do things should not be comparable to ordinary people. If this kind of seedling is cultivated by these insects, If he dies unexpectedly, it's his fault for becoming emperor.
"Your Majesty, don't worry, Wei Chen understands. Then this case..."
Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Don't be anxious. Let's see how they perform. It's not that I can't get rid of the sand in my eyes, but there must be a measure in everything."
Mao Yuwen's own degree was clear to him, but in this matter, he didn't know what the emperor meant by 'degree'.
These people on the left and right will also have to report, let’s wait and see in a few days.
After the spring equinox, the weather gets warmer.
Zhu Houzhao has recently been concerned about the Hetao situation and has discussed with the court officials several times about immigration to the border area.
Today's Ming Dynasty has an annual income of 29 million shi, which is a relatively good situation for the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the revenue from sea trade has increased year by year, and nearly 10 million taels of silver are imported from overseas every year.
However, there are still many refugees in various places.
During the Hongwu period, there were more than 8 million hectares of cultivated land in the country. By the Hongzhi and Zhengde years, there were only more than 4 million hectares left. A large amount of land was annexed or affiliated. The land that did not pay taxes was reduced by half, but the taxes were still the same. In this way It would be strange if there were no refugees.
During the discussion, the Supervisor of Ceremonies came and said five words: urgent delivery from Huai'an Prefecture.
Liu Jin responded and went down the steps to pick it up.
Courtiers were also attracted.
"You continue, let's all discuss it."
After Zhu Houzhao said this, he opened the memorial. After reading it carefully, his eyelids twitched.
The memorial was jointly signed by the Minister of Criminal Affairs and the right deputy of the Imperial Palace.
What happened in Huai'an Mansion was told, but not completely.
It is said that there is indeed a phenomenon of wage deductions, and the common people can testify to this, but whether it is the deduction at the level of young government officials, I did not talk about it. Because there is no evidence.
It was said that Zhang Cong, the magistrate of Shanyang County, was imprisoned due to the reduction of grain storage in the warehouse. It was also said that he strongly denied it and the case could not be finalized at present.
But he did not mention what Zhang Cong wrote in court.
Zhu Houzhao was a little unhappy.
He can accept that the people below are somewhat selfish. As an official, most people do it for themselves, but as an official, you cannot be so sophisticated.
This method of disposal has completely forgotten the court and the people, and only cared about themselves.
Taking great care of yourself is called lack of restraint.
To put it simply, the things Zhang Cong wants to report really exist. Someone has already done this kind of thing that is disrespectful to the world. If you want to chop off Zhang Cong's head, you still refuse to do such a thing that does not require "responsibility". , so what is the use of such officials?
Snapped!
The emperor threw the memorial on the imperial desk.
When the courtiers heard the sound, they probably guessed that something was wrong.
"Your Majesty." Yang Yiqing saluted and shouted.
"I..." Zhu Houzhao rolled his eyes back and forth and bit his back teeth, "I shouldn't be so angry."
"Huai'an Mansion... Your Majesty, what about the deduction of wages as mentioned earlier?" Wang Hao knew that the matter was in his own hands. "Wei Chen has sent people to verify. Is the result... not good?"
"I, I didn't understand in the past. Is it really impossible to find out the truth about the world's affairs? Now I finally know that the people sent down are a den of snakes and rats with the local people!" Zhu Houzhao shook his head and sighed, "It's hard for anyone to really Those who are of the same mind as me will be less likely to forget their own interests."
When Wang Hao and Wang Bing heard this, they thought this was wrong.
"Your Majesty, please punish me if you don't do your job well."
"Sir, you don't have to stay in the capital anymore. Come and visit in person." Zhu Houzhao pointed at the memorial several times with his index finger and said slightly sternly, "Ask those who were sent there if they submitted the memorial truthfully or if they had choices. Go ahead. You can only tell me what I can know. What is this called? Blinding the Holy Spirit!!"
The emperor's authority is getting stronger and stronger, so there is no need to shout, but just a slightly stern tone, and everyone will not dare to speak out.
"In the future, don't talk about the reasons of being entangled. In the world of Ming Dynasty, no matter where the roots are or how they are intertwined, there are still things that I, the emperor, cannot deal with? I know that some people may not believe it, so just give it a try. Jin Yiwei has already followed my instructions. to intervene in this matter.
This is due to the deduction of project funds, the reduction of grain storage in warehouses, and the problems of the imperial mission itself. Be sure to make everything clear! gentlemen. "
"The old minister is here."
"You go first. If you still can't figure it out, I will move the court to Huai'an. Just for this small matter, let's see how many people can be involved!"
As soon as everyone heard this, they knew that nothing could go wrong, because the emperor had said many times that the things he targeted must have a result. That's it for now.
(End of chapter)
